It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,819 to combine two digital images so as to form a single new merged digital image. Typically, this is done by an operator who's time is relatively expensive working with equipment which is also relatively expensive. Thus, it is important to minimize the amount of time the operator spends per customer order. It is possible that when the two images are combined together, an overall undesirable aesthetic effect will result. For example, the combined image sometimes has the appearance of having been made by cutting and pasting the images together. This visual effect can be particularly evident when particular combinations of prestored images are merged with customer generated images. Thus, in order to avoid this, the prestored digital images are selected in accordance with a particular design attribute or style that complements the overall aesthetic appearance of the captured customer generated image.
The present invention solves the foregoing problem by providing a system where the customer generated image is scanned and a particular design attribute and/or style is determined. Then a prestored image is automatically selected which has a complementary design attribute and/or style.